


Acacia

by lea_hazel



Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: Community: femslashex, Courtship, F/F, Femslash, Pirates, Princes & Princesses, Secret Relationship, Sneaking Around, strange pirate courtship rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 06:43:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4950517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was her way to stand out in a crowd, no less in matters of the heart than in political affairs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acacia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rubyroth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyroth/gifts).



Quiet footsteps. Softly padding bare feet. Plush wall-to-wall carpeting. Raised on Hise, Acacia was accustomed to admiring all manner of pretty things, and she was impressed and pleased with the level of luxury appointing Vail Isle's castle. Especially when it made it so much easier for her to move silently. There were so many secrets in the castle, and Acacia was determined to learn as many of them as she could. Even the uncomfortable ones.

She paused in the hallway and counted the windows again to make sure she hadn't missed one. No, she was in the right place.

It had been a balmy evening and the air had not yet cooled, even deep into the night. Not a breath of air puffed through the windows, which had all been left open in the vain hope of letting in a cooling breeze. Acacia sat on the sill of one such window, tall and narrow, and reached up with both hands to haul herself out onto the ledge. For having stood in this place for at least a hundred years, the castle was in very fine repair, she was glad to note. There would be no slipping on crumbling stonework for her, tonight.

Step by step she descended, her toes grappling for purchase on the nooks and crannies of elaborate stone carving. She felt her way down by hand and foot. One more cautious step, and finally she had both feet in one place and could breathe a small sigh of relief. Now, all she had to do is make it in through the window, directly below the one she had climbed out of and in every way identical. On such a hot night, surely it would be open at least a crack. As far as Acacia knew, her bedroom windows were the only ones which had to be kept securely closed.

Yes, somehow she couldn't imagine a flock of birds flying into this particular room to wake its occupant with early morning song.

Acacia couldn't explain what had drawn her to the petite, icy-eyed princess, only that once she'd caught her eye, she couldn't look away. She was all delicate hands and refined manners, nothing like the girls she'd known back home at Hise. Not even like the girls she'd met at strange ports on her years of sailing with her mother, or her own brief, ill-fated captaincy. But surely it was more than just the lure of the unknown?

But this was no time to sink into rumination. She was sitting on a ledge many feet above the ground, and it was closing in on midnight. Even the highly enterprising Princess Gisette with her overflowing social calendar wouldn't stay out much later than this. And it would not do for Acacia to get caught. Flirtations were well and good, but she'd gotten a first-hand look at how paranoid Princess Gisette could be, very early in their acquaintance. Best to be on her way out long before the princess returned, and leave plenty of time for her anger to relax into amusement, before their next meeting.

This she thought as she climbed silently in through the window and slid with bare feet across the carpeted floor, past the four-poster bed and a massive clothes-press, to the desk that stood at the other end of the room. Eaten with curiosity, Acacia spared a quick glance over the desk surface, immaculately neat and ordered like a battalion of stationary and correspondence. The urge to thumb through the princess's letters was fated to remain unmet, although Acacia was certain that they would prove quite illuminating. And would likely be written in code.

No, cracking the mystery that was Gisette would take more than an evening spent rifling through her desk, and most likely far longer than seven weeks. Reining in her curiosity, she produced the item she had brought with her and spared a few tense heartbeats to picking out the best location in which to hide it.

Picking out the item in question had been a gauntlet of its own. She had already seen Gisette's reaction to a simple trinket, but this time she knew she would have to exceed expectations. Especially if she wanted the princess to forgive her quite blatant intrusion into her personal space. Acacia was under no illusions. She knew quite well that the kinds of games she played were not likely to be seen as simple courtship rituals anywhere outside of Hise, where even her strict father hardly batted an eyelash at them anymore.

But she had a reputation to maintain. And it would not do for Gisette to get bored of her. It was her way to stand out in a crowd, no less in matters of the heart than in political affairs. She flattered herself she was quite good at it. For all these reasons and more, she deemed her late-night jaunt to be a risk worth taking. As she concluded her hide-and-seek and retreated back through the window, she amused herself with trying to picture the princess's face when she discovered her little gift.

With the satisfaction of a job well-done, she returned to her room and fell asleep almost instantly.

***

With matters of diplomacy at hand, and so many exciting mysteries to investigate, Acacia didn't know when she'd next find the time to seek out the princess herself. She was relying on the princess's natural curiosity, and perhaps a certain indignation, to drive her into action. It was true that Gisette was used to being socially sought-out, rather than being the one doing the seeking. Acacia, however, was confident in her ability to attract, if not affection, then at least outrage.

Her instinct would soon prove sound, not for the first time that week, and likely not the last.

It was a bright, clear morning two or three days after her clandestine nightly escapade and she was setting out to find the library. An uncharacteristic move, since she was much more fond of learning by doing, but these were unusual times for Acacia and she was nothing if not adaptable. Reaching the library required her to pass by the music room, which was where Princess Gisette found and intercepted her.

“Lady Acacia,” she said, her face smooth as polished marble. “If I might have a word?”

“Of course, your highness,” said Acacia, smiling widely.

“ _In private_ , if you will,” said the princess, biting off each word.

“As your highness wishes, of course,” said Acacia, no hint of falter in her broad smile.

She led them into one of the smaller, private parlors. Acacia was under no illusion that there was any true privacy in this castle, and she was certain the princess knew it just as well. Still, for someone as image-conscious as the dear princess, an illusory privacy was better than a public scene. If indeed she intended to cause a scene.

A few tense moments passed while the princess paced, her hands clasped behind her back. Having settled her mind to something or another, she chose a chair across from her and took her seat, examining her fingernails idly.

“Life on Hise must be very different, compared to what you've experienced here, on Vail Isle,” she finally said.

“I think I have adjusted well,” said Acacia.

“One could say that,” said the princess. “Perhaps it is I who must now– _adjust_ my expectations.”

“I'm not certain I follow,” said Acacia, adapting a quizzical aspect, tilting her head just slightly to one side.

Princess Gisette's eyes narrowed, but to the observant onlooker – which Acacia certainly was – the twist of her lips was more amusement than disdain.

“I notice,” said Acacia after a short pause, “that you're wearing new earrings today. I must compliment you on them, they are very lovely.”

“Yes,” said Gisette. “Yes they are. Topaz, I believe.”

The faceted gems, teardrop cut and of a pale rose color, matched the princess's morning gown perfectly.

“They were a gift,” said the princess, “from an anonymous admirer.”

“How deliciously romantic,” said Acacia. “Surely you've spread this tale among your social circle. It would be a crime to withhold such an exciting piece of gossip. No doubt it will increase your social standing, as only a romantic mystery can.”

“Perhaps,” said the princess, a chill note creeping into her voice.

Acacia flashed her most winning smile. “Of course,” she added, “in my eyes, your consequence is already quite as high as it could be.”

“How sweet of you to say so, Lady Acacia,” said Princess Gisette, “especially when your opinion holds such sway among the delegates.”

She laughed. “Not at all, your highness.”

Gisette stood up abruptly. “Now, I believe it is time for me to proceed to my daily affairs. You, Lady Acacia, must also have your own obligations to attend to.”

“That I do,” she agreed.

The princess turned and walked out, pausing only briefly at the door to say, without turning her face, “Good day to you, Lady Acacia.”

“Til we meet again,” said Acacia.

She watched the princess vanish through the open doorway, letting the door drift slowly shut in her perfumed wake. She smiled to herself. All in all, it was a good day's work, she thought. Perhaps the princess would retain her icy edge for some time more, but that was all right by her. She was wearing the earrings, after all. Everything had turned out quite as she had planned. Pleased with her own ingenuity, Acacia abandoned the small parlor and resumed her journey to the grand library.

If she could defeat the ice princess's ire, surely she was equal to any challenge the summit presented her.  


End file.
